Trust

A book is a contract between the author and the reader.

The reader agrees to pay X amount of money for a story. The author agrees to provide X amount of entertainment/education/information.

The value of X determines how much the reader trusts the author.

This may be one reason publishing houses are so important. A publishing house has an established, trusted name. The reader can be reasonably assured that any author the publishing house approves can tell at least a passable story.

Trust is difficult to develop. I've noticed as I've given my story out for feedback, and as I've received others for the same thing, trust is lacking. When you ask for comments, the automatic assumption must be that there are comments to be made. That, as a newbie, you don't know what you're doing, and are therefore prone to mistakes of understanding or execution.

In short, a lack of trust.

I am not offended by this. I have recently been reminded to "trust but verify." The one has nothing to do with the other.

I think this is what happened during the contest. The "reader" judges trusted the authors to deliver on their promises. Most readers aren't writers. It would be natural to assume if someone can think up such a story idea, that someone should be able to write about it.

The "writer" judges know better. We know how hard it is to communicate well. We looked for all the little things we try to purge from our own writing because we know how such things can slow the reader down or interfere with understanding or turn a great idea into a mediocre book. How such things can ultimately betray trust.

Trust is difficult to develop, but painfully easy to lose. Betray your readers with a substandard book, and they may forgive you once, but they won't be duped for long.

Writers are encouraged to polish their skills, continually. Our goal is to be the best possible story-tellers we can be, no matter what standard the readers will accept. If we push ourselves, they will come to expect excellence from all authors. That can only be a good thing.

Characters, Cameras and POV

Point of View came up a lot in the MLS contest. Some people like first person, some like third person, some like omniscient, some don't seem to know what they like. They just want to read and would you please stop talking about writing?

Point of View can be described as the camera through which the book is filmed. The camera angle determines what gets shown and how. The Blair Witch Project, anyone? Or Sixth Sense, for that matter. The entire movie is filmed from Bruce Willis' perspective. We only know what he knows, and eventually we are just as surprised as he is (I was, anyway).

In Star of Justice, the camera falls out of the sky to land on Caissa's shoulder as she signs her name to the letter she is writing. I say shoulder because the book is written in third person. If it were written in first person, the camera would be inside her body. Maybe more on that in another post.

From the moment Caissa is identified as the viewpoint character, anything you read should (I hope) be firmly within Caissa's viewpoint. You will experience and know nothing that she doesn't experience and know.

This understanding of viewpoint is important for one reason with two sides.

It focuses your writing on one person's understanding of events. The reader can agree or disagree with that one person, but she has a frame of reference for viewing the whole story.

And, it limits the information the reader will get.

This is important.

Choose your viewpoint character based on the information you want your audience to have. Some characters know too much. Take Sherlock Holmes. Can you imagine a story written from his perspective? He's got the whole thing figured out the moment the inspector walks through the door. How much fun would that book be to read?

Some characters tell a better story, even though they aren't right in the middle of the action. This would be Watson. He's a nice, normal guy who doesn't know the origins of talcum powder.
Consider which of your characters will tell the better story and use that character to do it.

This doesn't mean you have to limit yourself to only one viewpoint per book. You may use as many as you wish, as long as you understand that every viewpoint change will take a toll on the reader.
For an author, how to tell the story should be considered as carefully as what story you're going to tell.

And I've never seen The Blair Witch Project. My motion sickness couldn't handle the shaking vid-cam.

How to Handle Feedback

"Consider the comment, then consider the source."

Mom told me that. It's good advice. First consider what is said. Is it true? Is it helpful? It is something you can change? If those answers seem to be "no," consider who said it. Is that person a friend, an enemy, or an objective observer? If it's someone who might actually know what he's talking about, go back and reconsider the comment. If he's not trustworthy, don't sweat it.

I tend to reverse those phrases.

If I don't trust the source, why would I trust the comment? I wouldn't expect to get advice about brain surgery from a hot dog vendor. Although, in today's economy...

If I ask for the comments, that's one thing. I never ask questions I don't want answered. It's one of my personal rules. I must consider such comments, not the source.

But if the comments are just offered, then, you betcha I'm going to consider the source first. Who is this person? Are they qualified to make such remarks? Does the comment have merit in its own right? Those sorts of questions. Otherwise I would spend my entire life shaping myself to anybody's opinions. That's not a good use of my time.

As far as feedback and my writing are concerned, right now my book is given with the understanding that my readers will comment. That means I expect people to say whatever they want about my story, even if I don't want to hear it. That's tough for some nice people, but I mean what I say. I want to know about the problems while I can fix them.

Here's how I do it.

When I get that email (most comments are by email at this point), I read it for all the good stuff first. That makes me happy. It's good to start happy.

Then I read all the "bad" stuff - the questions, the confusion, the grammar corrections or sentence restructuring. I consider these one by one. Do they improve the writing? Do they highlight a weak spot? If someone took the time to comment, (usually) it means it was a problem for them. How many other readers will be bothered by that same issue?

This is hard, but the trick is to focus on the writing, not your sense of self-worth. As long as the comments are about the writing, you can do this. It's about skill improvement.

Now, the moment comments stray into "I can't believe you were dumb enough to write it this way," I would be done. I've never gotten comments like that, by the way, but I would never consider them if I did. That's a "source" issue and that source would be off my list (I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me!).

If I don't have a specific reason for the writing being that way, 9 times out of 10, I'll change it. Why wouldn't I? Pride? I asked for this comment. How arrogant do I have to be to ignore it just because it doesn't make me happy?

Now, I won't change everything, not even for the guy giving me a paycheck. At some point, it's time to be done with changes and just write another book. But most comments don't want another book. They just want this one to be a little better. We all want that.

Then I go back and read the happy stuff again. In fact, those are the parts I'll read and reread
whenever I get discouraged. Those are the parts that keep me going through the hard parts.

So that's my process for analyzing feedback. A big thank-you to all my readers. I do consider all of you excellent sources.

The God Must Be Crazy

It's no wonder people think Bible-believers are insane.

Pick up the book of Genesis and start reading. (This is what most normal people do with a book - begin at the beginning)

You will see a God who creates everything, calls it good and then destroys almost everything because now it's all bad (Noah and the ark). Then he picks a liar and a coward to be the "father of nations" (that would be Abram, later Abraham) and waits until the guy is 100 to fulfill His promise of a son and heir. This guy's relatives (Lot and his family) live in the worst city in the world (Sodom) yet have to be forced out of it to save their lives. Later, these same people (Lot and his surviving daughters) commit incest and God makes nations out of the resulting children.

What is going on in this book?

Well, there's a few things to understand about the Bible.

First, it's an accurate historical record. As we all know, people do some really stupid, horrible things (getting kicked out of Eden springs to mind). The Bible doesn't sugar-coat those things. It shows people in all their stupid horribleness. That's one of the reasons we can know it's true. It shows reality.

Second, the Bible shows God dealing with these stupid, horrible decisions. In every instance, He shows justice tempered with mercy.

The world becomes completely evil; God redeems one family to keep humans alive (instead of killing them all and starting over with bees). He even saves animals because He knows we need them.

Humans forget God, yet He chooses one guy for no particular reason at all to demonstrate His faithfulness to the rest of us. The story of Abraham is the story of God fulfilling His promise because He said He would.

The Bible must be read as a whole. Even though it is many different books, it was written by one Author - the Author who was and is and is to come. He is outside time and sees the whole picture. No part of the Bible is obsolete. No part should be ignored.

If you decide to start at the beginning, keep reading. And remember, God isn't insane.

We are.

Tweaking Leads to Doubt

Most of the time I am proud of my books. Most of the time I am objective and pleased with what I've created.

I have moments, though, when doubt sets in. Doubt is a very calm word. I can't think of a better one, unless it is fear.

Did I answer all the right questions? What did I miss that someone else will notice? Are the characters consistent in their thoughts and actions?

I feel like I'm standing naked on a podium every time I get an email from a reader. Praise God most emails are positive (and the ones that aren't have been helpful).

Still, I wait for that moment of "I missed what?" that will cause my entire house of cards to fall down and the whole 166,000 word book to become ridiculous in scope. That would be a lot of ridiculous words. A lot of wasted time.

Conceit drives this. The fear that I am not as wonderful a writer as I think I am. The idea that one day I'll be at a book signing, and some young pup dressed as Merritt or Raven will approach with a question about how dryads and naiads can talk to each other. Or something I can't answer.

I suspect every artist feels this way about his creation. We are often our own worst critics, after all.
The fact is my story is made up. I don't have answers for every possible question or concern a reader might have, nor can I. I did the best I could to create a plausible world with plausible people. I hope I succeeded. That's all I can tell myself when the doubt sets in.

But keep the questions coming. Maybe thinking of the answers will inspire another book.

Tweaking

It occurred to me I don't know if or when Jeff the Publisher may request a full manuscript. So, I spent last night reformatting Star of Justice. I just learned how to do the "indent" thing instead of the "tab" thing.

It is amazing the things you see when you're not looking for them.

I already knew I needed to change the measurement system (apparently, "hands" means something entirely different in equestrian terms than I intended for this world and has caused some confusion).
I'm finding and changing all hands (about 9 inches) and paces (about 12 inches) to hafmets, or about 18 inches. My tiny solar calculator has been busy.

I want to remove italics on weird words, like olum, erguk and mavle. In this world, those are real words, not weird words. For example, we don't italicize oak in normal writing.

Based on some comments from a reader, I am looking for confusing paragraphs, where action by one character interrupts speaking by another character. I've found and corrected a few, usually just by adding a paragraph break.

And I must decide if the Ah'rahkeen races are one race with different characteristics (like humans) or six separate races (like dogs and cats). That's kind of important.

So that was my night.

My morning will be spent trying to start my car in -1 degrees.

Happy global warming, everyone. Bundle up.

A Bit of A Ramble About...Role Play

When I say "role play," most Christians see drunk teenagers wearing cloaks and swords roaming the woods at midnight chopping up virgins and summoning demons with a ouija board.

That may happen. I wouldn't know. I wouldn't take part in such an event. Too much like theater.

When I say "role play," I mean no more than seven people sitting around a large table with a map, dice and a rulebook playing a game far more interesting than Monopoly.

Here's a run-down:
The GM (Game Master) creates a story, usually a quest involving a search for treasure, the overthrow of some evil power and often the rescue of innocents along the way (sounds a lot like a video game, doesn't it?).

The players (no more than six or it just gets dull waiting for your turn during battles) create characters who join this quest. My group was very serious about character creation. Our characters had backgrounds, life histories, spouses/siblings - all sorts of things that might be used by the GM as part of the plot.

The actual effect of the game is to create a story. The GM provides the plot, the players provide the action and dialogue and plot twists, and together you create something you want to talk about for years (and no one else wants to hear).

For example, Kirk was the first character I role-played. He had a great respect for bears. Our GM forgot about this and used bears as guards for a cave we had to enter. The bears were killed. Kirk was so devastated he left the party and went on a quest of absolution to cleanse himself of the evil. Result: Kirk was no longer in the game.

(The GM was quite annoyed, but, hey, that's what Kirk the character would have done. Galena was created as a result, and I love her, so it's all good.)

The story took a different turn because of the background of the character, and we ran with it, and got a great new story.

I used to take notes, write them up in "cool" form and bring them back for everyone to read at the next game. That was fun, too.

I miss my group, but in the years since we dissolved, I started writing my own stories about those characters I created. That led to Star of Justice, and I can't be upset about that.

Now you know what I mean when I say "role play."

And I only wear my cloak at RenFest.

Conflict

"Unreasonable people make life so difficult." Nick Parker, Blind Fury.

Today began as any normal day. By mid-afternoon, all ---- broke loose.

That could be the opening sentence of any good book. Good books are, after all, about conflict. Main Character wants what she cannot have, for whatever reason. We want her to have it, and we root for her while she's getting it and boo the bad guys who try to stop her or take it away. That's a story.

It's different when it's your life.

I don't particularly like conflict. I'm a turtle. We don't do rocky. We do flat.

But God doesn't always give us flat. Flat makes us boring and soft.

Flat makes for soft, boring stories, too. Give your characters some big hurdle to overcome. Some impossible task to accomplish. Some completely unreasonable person to deal with. In stories, that's what we want.

In real life, that's what we get.

Frankly, I'd rather read it than live it.

Right of Way

Two cars meet at a four way stop. Right of way (in Kansas) states the car on the right goes first if they stop at the same time.

It's a simple law. I remember it. I have no problem with it. The privilege of driving includes following the rules of driving.

However, when the driver on the right is a man, and the driver on the left is a woman, the man seems to think the law no longer applies.

I'm not a femi-Nazi. I'm not even a women's libber. I expect a man to hold a door for me, and I say "thank you" when he does.

But this waving me through - you know what I mean - infuriates me. Usually because it's an impatient wave, like "hurry up and go, lady, I'm being polite and it's wasting my valuable time."

You know what? If your time is that important to you, try following the law and take the right of way!
Grrr!

Feedback

Now that the contest is over, the MLS board is quiet. It seems those authors inclined to do so have started some groups. Those authors not so inclined are doing...well, whatever they want, I suppose.

I have joined a Yahoo writing group called the Anomaly Sandbox, inspired by The Anomaly forum. I've never been in a Yahoo group, so I have no idea how it works or what I'm doing. I'm grateful everyone else seems to be in the same boat. I have also contacted a few authors whose entries appealed to me either in genre, idea or writing style with the purpose of trading pieces of writing for feedback.

Interesting word, feedback. It's the PC word for critique because critique leads to connotations of critical and we can't have that.

The problem is in order for feedback to be truly useful, it should contain some critical elements. I've said before writers cannot afford to take criticism personally. When done correctly, criticism isn't about the writer; it's about the writing. If the writing isn't clear, the author needs to know. How else can it be corrected? That's what feedback is all about.

I sound very stoic about this. Fact is, I've rarely been critiqued on my writing. Oh, yes, in high school and college, but who cared back then? I've only belonged to one critique group as an adult. Since I was the only Christian fantasy author in a group of liberal poets, sex educators and one eleven year old, it's safe to say I didn't find much help with content issues. Actually, the eleven year old was the most helpful. We understood each other. They were nice people, but they argued with me over the PC aspects of calling certain characters barbarians. That's a fairly judgmental word, after all.

I have been critiqued on other things, though. My master's is in marriage and family therapy. Believe me, you haven't been critiqued until you present a tape of a therapy session to five other students and a teacher and have them tell you what you should have done to help that family. That is personal, and makes critiques of my writing seem like a hug.

So we'll see how this next experiment in the writing journey progresses. I will continue to take one turtle step at a time. Persistence is the key, and turtles can be very persistent.

I will also begin to explore other areas of The Anomaly. It has numerous other boards, after all, some of them devoted to fantasy and sci-fi issues.

See? Even a turtle can learn to be adventurous. I hope I don't get my head chopped off.

The Bible

God willing, for 2010, Sunday posts will be about scripture. I have no idea what that means, so I'll just start writing.

I believe the Bible is both an accurate historical record and a divine revelation of God's relationship with humans from the beginning of time, written by men inspired by God, eyewitnesses to the fulfillment of prophecy given by the One who knows all things (2 Peter 1:16-21). This belief puts me in the minority of Christians today, who prefer to water down scripture by believing certain things are metaphors or fictional lessons or plain made-up stories.

I once heard a pastor completely remove the divine miracle of the feeding of the 5000 by saying Jesus' example of sharing led everyone there to pull their "hidden" lunches out of their pockets. To dilute the meaning of scripture because you don't believe in the supernatural power of God is blasphemy in my book. I doubt that pastor believes in Judgment Day, either, which won't stop it from happening.

Here's where things get dicey. While I believe the Bible is accurate and divinely inspired, and useful for lots of things, it is not sufficient for salvation. An example.

Let's say I wrote an auto-biography. You read it. You like it. You think I'm the best person in the world (this is a made-up example, remember) and you want to be my best friend. You carry my book with you everywhere. You memorize whole chapters and quote them at people. I come up in your daily conversations. One day, we meet at Sonic and you start telling me how great I am and how close we are and how you've sold all your stuff so you can come live with me. You know what I'm going to say?

"Get away from me, crazy person. I don't know you."

Sound familiar?

God is a person. A really big, powerful person, but a person. Jesus is a person, too. So is the Holy Spirit. To meet one is to meet them all. The Bible can tell you about God, but only He can be your friend. If you don't know Jesus, it's easy to remedy. Ask Him now to become real to you. Ask Him to teach you how to know Him. Then read your Bible. You will see things you've never seen before because your new friend The Holy Spirit will teach you how to see.

Yes, it all sounds mystical and weird. Well, get over it. God is mystical and weird. That's the kind of guy He is. But He's also loving, and constant, and personal and, quite frankly, the most interesting person you will ever know.

Way more interesting than me. :)

Well, that's one post about scripture.

Over-stuffing

I put a "funny" about myself on my website, and, as with most humor, discovered a grain of truth.
I regularly over-stuff my soups.

Soups aren't the only thing I over-stuff. I have six cats. I buy sketchbooks and pens even though I haven't seriously drawn anything in the last decade. I have more furniture (hand-me-down) than house.

And I put everything I can think of into my stories. Remember, all my worlds connect. Every book has pieces of other books in it. I don't explain those pieces, I just show them, because I hope someday you'll read another of my books and say "Hey, I remember that guy!"

Maybe.

I'm wondering if I'm writing my own fan fiction. Chuckle. Or the never ending soap opera.

The funny thing is I don't like to read books like that. I prefer to follow one character and really get to know him.

In college, I studied Minuchin. He theorized "you are who you're with." Different people bring out different aspects of your personality. You're perfect when you're the same person with everyone.

Well, I'm not perfect. Neither are my characters. So expect my stories to be stuffed with people, because that's how you learn who they really are.

Maligayang Bagong Taon!

I have it on good authority that means "Happy New Year!" I don't celebrate New Year's myself. I'm an early bird, not a night owl. I am grateful the extremely cold weather kept the firecracker crowd inside last night. I slept uninterrupted until cat breakfast.

(I never mention the dog waking me up because she's better behaved than the cats. Bless her.)

Many people use the the New Year to make resolutions they later break. I do not. If I'm going to resolve something, I do it when the idea occurs to me. No sense waiting.

This year our Bible study group will read the entire Bible in chronological order. I've never done that before and I am looking forward to it. I will, naturally, start today. This can only help me in my writing journey as a Christian author. I continually seek inspiration for my characters in the Scriptures (guiding verses, issues to overcome, that sort of thing). I suspect God will use this discipline to reward me in ways I cannot now see.

I will continue to seek publication, both for Star of Justice and Elementals. For the moment, Star of Justice will stay with Jeff the Publisher until I receive a "send me more" or a "not yet, thank you." But I can work on Elementals. This means more research, more marketing-skill polishing, perhaps more contests. I will keep self-publishing as an option, but MLS has shown me the value of having at least one other author review something (my growing thanks to the Lioness!).

Those are two goals, and that's enough for this turtle. That was the "looking forward" part of the blog evaluation.

Now, a brief look back to get that out of the way.

I think I've added two new followers to the blog, both of whom were in the premise contest.

Welcome to The Wordcrafter/ Keven Newsome who wrote Winter, and to Diane Graham, who wrote I Am Ocilla, one of the winning premises! Congratulations, Diane! And Wordcrafter, I am shocked yours didn't advance. It is safe to say, any future publication I enjoy will be God's doing, because I can't read a crowd's preferences to save my life.

I have added more scriptures to my blog, finished labeling posts (the hard part is remembering to label in the first place), and added several more "blogs I follow" as I find writers at MLS I like. Diane, that's an invitation to send me your blog info.

As for my website, I've been having all kinds of fun! I added a full page for Star of Justice, and even have my first "reader comment." I will add another page of links for "authors to watch" from MLS. Several authors have websites but no blogs. I hope to change something on the website once a month to keep it interesting.

Good-bye, 2009. I will hopefully remember only the good things. Hello, 2010. May God have mercy on us all.

Merry Christmas!

My family - parts of it, anyway - finally celebrated Christmas together last night. It was brief, it was low-key, but I got my presents and they got theirs and we all went away happy. Except possibly The Flash, but if you're going to be an archaeologist, then you should expect to get historically relevant and educational Christmas presents. From this aunt, anyway. At least it was a DVD. I could have gotten her a book. Gasp!

Tonight, many will celebrate New Year's Eve. Many MLS participants will no doubt stay up and on the boards, staring at the screens, waiting for Jeff the Publisher to reveal who wins The Big Prize of publication.

(You still have time to vote, if you haven't, but not much time)

I am curious about the main contest winner. I am more curious about who will win the premise contest. But, being a turtle, curiosity doesn't plague me like it plagues most people. Most likely, I'll go to bed and read about it in the morning.

Like with Presidential elections.

Gene Getz Would Be Proud of Me

If that humble man is capable of pride.

Last night, emboldened by The Lioness' example, I contacted several authors from the boards and offered to assist with read-throughs and comments. I received one immediate response. Yea!

I hope yea. I am concerned I may be that You Tube turtle trying to eat the cherry tomato. Lots of desire, not a lot of success.

We'll see. It has been exhilarating to be part of the refining process for another author. Since it's something I want, it makes sense I should offer it. How does the saying go? If you want a friend, be a friend? Something like that.

I must obey rule 3 today. It snowed again in Kansas, and I need all the time I have to clean off my car and get to work undamaged, God willing.

What I Learned as a Newly Published Author

Mary DeMuth put this article on her "So You Want to be Published" blog (which is one of the blogs I follow, if you want to read it). She wrote it two years ago.

Basically, it's about networking, and being gracious, and promoting your own work when you can, and not being a jerk.

She has 10 points but those are the highlights. It's a good article, whether you're published or not. It probably relates to more than just the writing field.

Sally Stuart said much the same things 20 years ago when I was attending her conferences, so I'm guessing some things never change.

I was a jerk 20 years ago. I didn't like people very much, so I wasn't interested in networking. I was rarely gracious about anything. And self-promotion? Forget it. Too much work.

Amazing the difference 20 years and a little growing up can make.

This blog, my website, my newly self-printed business cards with the little turtle head on them - all my beginning efforts at self-promotion.

Entering the MLS contest provided immediate networking possibilities as well as the opportunity to be a gracious loser. I hope I succeeded in that! Feels like I did. It also gave me a chance to learn more about the business end of the craft, and that can only be useful.

Writing isn't a goal to be achieved. It's a craft to be mastered. Publishing one book is great. Writing a good book is better.

Past Ties is officially begun. With the Blown Away soundtrack alternately rocking and crooning through the living room, Tayra Shah started her journey from Antarctica to Pohnpei and countries beyond.

'Cause I want to be published, Mary. Thanks for the good words.

A Quandary

So, I decided to write Past Ties next because it's the book that started it all. I can keep it short and sweet and action-packed (maybe). It has issues I must resolve if other Ah'rahk stories are to progress with any hope of coherence.

I'm having second thoughts. Shocking!

Susie, you'll understand this. Which book do you write when you have more than one book idea?

Do I write the actual sequel to Star of Justice? What if the sequel needs to be something different depending on the publisher? The sequel deals with some heavy issues, like marriage and betrayal and, you know, marriage. I'd rather change a story before I write it.

Or, do I write one of the books that precedes Star of Justice? Like the one that explains the presence of humans on Ah'rahk (The First Man). Or the one that explains the mysterious stranger briefly mentioned in Star of Justice who sort of causes all the trouble in the first place (Dangling Participles)? Or the book that tells why Golor's king is in York when Caissa gets back to the city (The Royal Pain)?

See the trouble?

They're all important. They all give a piece of the story. Not all of them are Caissa's story, but they are all based on Ah'rahk and give background on her story. Remember background?

So, there's my quandary. The only way I can think to solve it is to quit my day job, start writing and not stop until they're all done or the cats eat me.

Or cast lots. That would be more Biblical.

I guess I'll write on Past Ties until I decide.

Oh, and check out my website! I've added my first "reader review" quote for Star of Justice, and it looks great!

Freedom!

No, I didn't watch Braveheart (now I want to). No, I'm not debt-free (yet) according to Dave Ramsey.

I did put my Suzuki into 4-wheel drive and power out of my driveway to church this morning. Ah, freedom!

Most streets are not good. Things that melted today will freeze up overnight and be horrible in the morning.

I don't care.

While I have had a wonderful, home bound Christmas with my furry family, I am ready to venture out even into the cold and meet a few humans for a while.

Not a long while. But a while.

Starfire by Stuart Vaughn Stockton

I learned about MLP because of this author.

"Let me explain. No, is too much. Let me sum up."

Some fellow church members knew Stockton as a boy and bought his book when it was published by MLP. They loaned me the book and some Internet links for Stockton, and I did the research that ultimately led to my entry in the MLS Premise Contest.

Back to the book.

I started reading Starfire in the emergency room when one of my grandmothers was getting stitched up after a fall. Several family members can attest to my despair at that time, and not for my grandmother's sake (she recovered nicely). The prologue instantly transported me to a world where dinosaurs are the dominant species, volcanoes spew ash and fire into the air at will, and plants move around as much as the animals. I thought, If this is the quality MLP seeks, I'll never make it with them. Who could? This writer is too good for the rest of us mere mortals.

Again, my relatives will testify to this. So will the hospital emergency staff on duty that night. I am not the quietly despairing type.

Stockton creates an enormous, violent, technicolor world, where Rathe must survive and thrive in the fight-or-die-fighting rules of his society. His empire is at war, and through sheer coincidence (or is it?), he gets the break he needs to elevate his position from unknown runt to war hero.

Is he worthy of the trust of his new team, or will he prove himself to be just a soft-shell from an unknown family who got a lucky break?

I have never read nor wanted to read a book with dinosaurs as the main characters. After the first chapter, I wished I had a tail because the things are so darn useful.

Fortunately for me, my despair eventually wore off and I realized Stockton is not a god of writing but a man with a well-conceived and executed story. I was relieved when I found my first typo (Jeff the Publisher explained on the boards why books have typos, and his reasons sound accurate).

Dinosaurs with weapons, computers, airplanes and ground transports are a wonderful mix of contrasts to this reader, reminding me of the epic battle between the demon Hell Boy and the fairy monsters in Hell Boy 2. Talk about clash of worldviews!

Stockton isn't afraid of violence, blood or killing characters to prove the situation is serious. This is a real world, with a real war, and real casualties. I especially enjoyed the little Karey Or (carrier?) who contains the computer program that will launch the Starfire weapon and end the war, thus elevating Rathe to positions beyond his wildest dreams.

This is subtitled Book 1. I have no idea how many books are planned, but I will be buying them, right after I buy a copy of this one for myself.

This book will appeal to guy and girl geeks and nerds (as far as I know, jocks only read sports magazines, and there isn't a lot of romance for the girly-girls). I had to read in snatches over the course of a month, and I had no problem remembering where I was or what was happening.

Stockton includes size charts (I used a lot), species definitions (don't think I read it) and lexicon of unfamiliar words (only looked at twice because he's so good at defining in context). I would have liked a listing of all the different types of saurn but not having one didn't hinder me too much.

To sum up: Great book. Buy it. Read it. Don't despair.

Maligayang Pasko!

That's how they say "Merry Christmas" in the Philippines. I've been shouting it at people all week. I've gotten some strange looks.

Snow continues to fall in Kansas, and the capital city is shut down for the duration. I have spent the day reading, eating and sleeping. At least one cat and the dog have joined me in all of these activities.

It occurred to me last night, some might think I was upset at spending Christmas alone.

First, it is impossible to be alone in a house with seven critters. Second, it is impossible to be alone when Jesus is in your heart. Third, it is impossible to be alone while electricity and phone lines are active.

I am blessed to live near the majority of my family. I see them on a regular basis. I would far rather know they are home safe and warm than worry about them being damaged or stranded on their way to a turkey dinner.

I ate a ground turkey dinner, with peas, onions and rice. It was delicious.

I have fixed the "contact me" page on my website. You should now actually be able to "contact me."
Too bad no one was able to contact me to let me know it wasn't working :)

I continue to pray for the safety of all travelers this Christmas. Being safe is more important than being home. Trust me on this.

God bless us, everyone!

Voting Begins in Phase 4

Those of you registered with MLS got an email this morning. Polls will stay open until New Year's Eve, when the winner will be announced at 11 PM Eastern. If you vote in this round, you have a chance to win an MLP product, two chances if you vote in both contests.

I scoffed (nicely) at the need for prizes when it was brought up on the boards, but seeing how many of my favorites have vanished, prizes might be a good idea to keep more people engaged.

I have one more main entry to read before I can vote, but I'll do that today.

Here in Kansas, a snow storm is brewing. I'll spend most of the day indoors, working on my website, wrapping presents, reading a new friend's manuscript, and praying for safety for all the well-meaning idiots who don't understand that snowstorms are God's way of telling you to stay home, even on Christmas Eve. Alas, I will be one of those idiots, so spare a prayer for me, if it's not out of your way.

If you are also snowed in by yourself, I have a few more Christmas movie recommendations. If you are snowed it with someone else, shame on you for wasting time watching movies.

Home movies: These are the exception for those home with someone else. These can be just the thing to rekindle the holiday spirit of love and gratitude. Or anger and bitterness, so be careful which home movies you pick to show.

Little Women: A safe movie for the family, except for the worldview philosophy espoused. I can't remember what they call it, but I call it secular humanism when you believe a child will naturally grow into someone wonderful if you just love them enough and let them follow their own inclinations. Humbug! But, I'll watch Christian Bale in almost anything, and its nearly impossible to see Gabriel Byrne in a G-rated, non-villain role, so I like this movie.

Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas: Now available on DVD! I am no longer the only person who will be singing the lyrics to "Barbecue" this Christmas. Or at any backyard barbecue. Or at any gathering where barbecue is present. Or... well, that's enough of that.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: I can't believe I left this off my other list! This movie even has Santa Claus in it. I cried when he showed up. I cry a lot during this movie, but it's good crying. I love the way Lewis combines pagan myths with a Christian worldview, as if God is the maker of them all, which He is. Funny. As I write that sentence, my worldview antenna comes up and asks "what stops people from believing God is as mythical as the myths?" Hmm. May have to ponder that a while.

Galaxy Quest: Yeah, I know I already listed this one, but I just watched it last night with some new friends, and I really think the world would be a better place if more people saw this movie.

"Unless I'm wrong, and I'm not (that's Tony Shaloub as Adrian Monk. Is there nothing that man can't do?)."

Anyway, Merry Christmas!

PS: It's a Christmas miracle! My family decided to not risk death and dismemberment by going out tonight. I'm headed down to the stacks to pull out some movies. Galaxy Quest, anyone?

Do You Read Your Own Stuff?

I'm not asking in a mean way, like "Didn't you bother to read this before you submitted?"

I'm asking because I do read my own stuff, and I wonder if other people do, too.

I like my stories. That should be obvious by now. When I can't find a book to read that fits my mood, I'll pull out one of my old short stories and read it (just did it last night actually).

I'm not reading it to edit or improve it or anything. I just like the story. Now, I may see areas I could improve, but that's not the point. I just enjoying the writing and think, "Not too bad, turtle. There's hope for you yet."

Does anybody else feel that way about your stuff? Is that why you write?

Or, once again, is it just me and my pride filling the room?

Let me know.

PS: Don't be afraid to comment. You can do it anonymously. Even if you use your own name, you can't possibly sound more arrogant than I do on a daily basis. Here, you are completely safe with being completely honest!

Benefits of A Contest

I'll try to keep this short. Since I keep breaking Rule 3, I may modify it to "I will try to keep it short." You can tell how passionate I am about a topic by how long I wax on it.

The MLS contest is over for me, but it isn't over. I encourage you to continue participating if you have any interest in speculative Christian fiction. I also don't own any MLP books yet, so if you're still looking for a Christmas present, I'd be good with any of them. Hero, Second Class will be my first official purchase. I want to see what kind of writer is allowed 607 pages on his first book :)
And, I was thinking of Jeff's possible answer to my concerns should he ever read my post. It was obvious.
0 : - )
My answer? : (

I'll get over it.

Anyhoo... I've learned a contest is a little slice of what getting published is like. The submitting, the waiting, the worry, the sleepless nights. I hope entering contests provides a kind of inoculation. I kept thinking of that Northern Exposure episode where pregnant Shelley redecorates their apartment in pink frills, lace and gingham and Holling can't use the bathroom anymore. Joel tells him "no man could move his bowels in here" (pause to laugh a while). Holling says he'll spend time in the bathroom everyday until he gets acclimated (more laughing). Contests are like that.

I learned I am not the only Christian fantasy writer in the world, nor am I the only good Christian fantasy writer in the world. (That was a joke. Sometimes hard to tell with me.) I've added some good writers to "blogs I follow" since the contest started. Susie, you'll like the newest one, "Musings on This, That and The Other." Jennifer Allee wrote Vinnie's Diner in the contest, but she normally writes romances.

I've rewritten my Star of Justice synopsis based on comments about mine in general and others in particular, and it seems to be improved, according to the folks who care enough to comment. Thank you for those comments. Hopefully, this will translate into better first efforts for my other books.

I will write hooks and blurbs earlier in the new book process. A hook can help keep focus on The Main Thing. Being a seat of the pants writer, I don't know if it will help or hurt, but I'll try it and see.

I will aim for 100,000 words on my next few books. Elementals' first draft is 108,000. I actually planned to add a little bit rather than take away but I won't go above 110,000. I may be able to cut.
That was my first "zipper" book (two different perspectives at the same time in different places zipped together as you read) and I personally got lost while writing it, so I have no idea how it will read when I pick it up next year (next year is next month, so don't freak, mom). But, Past Ties... I think I can keep Past Ties at 100,000. I bet I can do it with The First Man, too, and that's the book that starts The Justice Cycle (that's what I'll call the series of books dealing with Ah'rahk).

So, not keeping it short, but stopping now. I'll save the rest for another post.

Winter Solstice

It's finally here! Happy Winter Solstice, everyone!

After tonight, the longest night of the year, the earth will begin its tilt back toward Sol and the days will lengthen instead of shorten.

Thank you, Jesus!

Had God not predestined me before He created the world to be one of the elect, I would be a druid. Not quite sure how I would handle the animal sacrifices, but I suppose I would work something out. I feel a deep connection to seasonal cycles. I wish work days could be shorter in winter and longer in summer. I'm not at my best in the cold dark.

I drink a toast every winter solstice to those who have taken The Long Step before me. I call it The Long Step because I have a theory about faster than light acceleration after death and time disappearing and...oh, it's long and complicated and possibly not terribly accurate, although I developed it after reading a book about string theory. Basically, it doesn't matter how long the step, we all get there at the same time.

Anyway, I drink my toast and say "hello, again" and "farewell 'til next year" and go to bed with the hope that tomorrow the sun will come up a minute earlier. So far, my hopes have been realized.

Make it a great day, everybody. Spring is now three months away!

I'm A Brat, Recovering

I'm glad I've written the previous posts about pride, cause, boy howdy! this could be a doozie.

I'm going to write this post for two reasons. One, I want this blog to be an accurate reflection of my writing journey. That means even when I'd prefer not to write something about myself, I'm going to do it anyway. If I ever get a fan base, I hope they appreciate it.

Two, I've said before I have to plan my actions before the moment arrives or I freeze. This means I spend a lot of time thinking about what I will do in situations that never happen. Welcome to my hell. I do try to focus on things statistically likely to happen. God will have to take care of me in the rest.

The MLS experience has opened all manner of new situations for me. First contest I ever wanted to win (except that candy selling contest in third grade with the 8 lb bar of chocolate as first prize. I won, by the way). First time I submitted with an actual chance to get published (I knew Tor would never accept me). First time I've written any of the things required for the contest.

I think I've done pretty well with them. I thank God and Gene Getz and my new found turtle philosophy of one little step at a time...

Let me tell you a fact about brats. We have one thing in common. We all believe we are The
Exception to The Rule. Doesn't matter what Rule, we are The Exception.

Brats believe this because it's true. For whatever reason, brats are formed when they actually are the exception to the rule. Brats are broken when The Rule finally applies. The worst case scenario for a brat is death. Can't really negotiate that.

I encountered The Rule in my 12th year. It was quite painful (though thankfully not deadly), but I survived and became a recovering brat. I also began my crusade to be The Rule to any brat I happen to encounter. Ask my nieces. I think they've forgiven me.

The rest of my life has been a struggle to accept The Rule. For the most part I succeed. But every once in a while, my brat shows up and expects to be the exception.

Why write about this now? I'm still processing the new experience of word counts, and cutting 100 pages, and my first book, and just how badly I want to be published. I now have two examples of Jeff the Publisher asking new writers to cut their word counts on their first books (and after he wrote on the forum that new writers don't necessarily need to limit their word counts, too! Not nice, Jeff!). This concerns me a little.

I think of my first born like The Sixth Sense. I believe it is the best book I will ever write (I might believe that because I think the world will end soon, but maybe not). Frankly, I'm a little afraid of making it my first published book because I don't know if I can ever do that again, and we all know what happened to M. Night Shayamalan. I'm not saying Star of Justice is perfect. It needs copy editing and tightening and tweaking and maybe even some cutting. I have no problem with minor adjustments.

I am processing this because I need to know what I will do if Jeff the Publisher asks me to drastically cut words on Star of Justice. If I don't answer that question in my own head before it happens, my automatic freeze response will be "no."

Don't be stupid, you might tell me. You'll never get another chance with this. Yeah, Mr. Collins said the same thing to Lizzy and she got Mr. Darcy. Not that I'm comparing MLS to Mr. Collins. OK, I kinda am, but... Anyway, I don't make my decisions based on what might happen later. I make them based on what lets me sleep at night. Can I sleep if I cut 100 pages from Star of Justice? Would it really be a better book or just a shorter book?

Some people (Elder Brother comes to mind) would tell me not to borrow trouble and no point worrying about it until MLP requests a full mss. I can't help it with this one. I will think about this until I resolve it. I have no hope of doing otherwise.

I probably won't write another post on the subject, but this is what will be going through my mind for a while. I will pray that God gives me wisdom in answering the question. And maybe, I'll be The Exception one more time.

My Brat sure hopes so.

TUTAW: One Book

The Ugly Truth About Writing is...some authors only write one book.

I don't mean one book in quantity, although plenty of authors do that. I mean one book in essence.

A few secular examples: Barbara Cartland (fragile, penniless waif with heart-shaped face and huge eyes is rescued by brawny, impeccably-dressed millionaire), Piers Anthony (coming of age story for a boy or girl whatever), and Anne McCaffrey (young person with musical ability and some extraordinary talent must beat the odds to become the best dragon-rider, crystal singer, psionic, you fill in the blank). All three are prolific authors who write basically one book with variations.

Don't get me wrong. I have and love various books by each of these authors. Maybe not Barbara Cartland so much, but her books are like popcorn. Finished in an hour or two and you can still eat dinner. And, I think I own more books by Anne McCaffrey than any other author I read. She's certainly one of my biggest influences. I owe my tendency to link my worlds to her. I believe every book she's ever written involves the same universe in different chronology.

Even Barbara Hambly, one of my favorite authors, writes basically the same book. A stick-like warrior woman and a gangly wizard who doesn't actually use his magic fight some kind of all-powerful evil thing using sheer stubbornness and plodding methodology. I like her because she uses words I don't know and every once in a while, usually once per book, writes a sentence that grabs my heart and sticks in my brain.

Let's examine C.S. Lewis's Narnia series. Those books are nothing alike, except that they take place, for the most part, in Narnia and Aslan shows up in all of them. I cannot say I like all the Narnia books equally, but that is not a bad thing, either. Lewis wrote more than one book, in essence as well as quantity.

And me? I want to think my books will be different. Now that I've started book 3 in a completely different series and genre than the other two, I'm not so sure. Two out of three begin with loners (although loners for different reasons), two out of three include tall, black, bald women warriors (I have no idea how that happened unless I blame Grace Jones in Conan the Destroyer), three out of three feature a mentor, and three out of three involve abandonment issues by parents or guardians. To quote Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly: "Huh."

On the other hand, if I can sell as many books as any of the authors I've listed, I'm totally okay with writing only one book. As long as it's a book people want to read.

Solid People

The first book I read by Barbara Hambly was Those Who Hunt the Night. She immediately became an author I looked for in bookstores. Irony: this book was different than many of her other books. Go figure.

What I loved about it was the solidity of the characters. These people had lives pre-story and a sense of lives post-story, yet it is a stand-alone book. That sense of reality was created for this book and this book alone. I'm pretty sure this is the first book where I felt that to be true.

Apparently, some authors have difficulty making people. I don't have this problem (or I don't think I do) so I don't know what that would be like. I can say, even I have used some tools in the past to help flesh out characters.

I've mentioned I used to role play. I was blessed with a group who loved character-driven campaigns as much as I did (as opposed to action-driven where you spend 2 minutes rolling stats, play until you die and roll another character before the next encounter. A lot like a video game, and not my cup of mead).

My group would spend an entire evening creating characters, equipping them, and coming up with backstories so our actions during play would be realistic. That's the kind of nerds we were. One of our members had a background creation book that was dog-eared with use. Galena was one of the characters I created this way. It's how she ended up with four children, a short, orange-haired husband (who later became a character of his own) and a proficiency for wrestling learned during a two year stint as a slave gladiator. That's background.

I think it's important to a story. You don't have to put all this info into your book. It might be better if you don't. But knowing someone's past can help determine future actions. Galena's wrestling background means she's not afraid to drop her morningstar and grapple with a bad guy if that's how it has to be. Having four children may affect how she treats other children in the story (it doesn't, by the way. Her non-barbarian husband is the mother in that family). Being a slave means she might have met another character in the slave pits (that would be Tusk, Star of Justice fans) who shows up to say howdy and becomes a part of the action for a while. Noodles, if you're out there, I kept my promise!

This doesn't mean a story without all this can't be great. Sure it can. Some tales don't require knowing the third-removed cousin of the protagonist's chiropractor. And sometimes creating that kind of detail can be an excuse to avoid writing the actual story. I'm just saying I prefer people who seem real, and those kinds of people have backgrounds.

The background bonus? You might get a prequel, sequel and side-quel out of it. I have.

The Day After

As predicted, very few comments (so far) on Star of Justice. I don't think people quite know what to do with the story. I am grateful to one of my "new friends from the boards" who copy-edited it for me. I slapped my forehead when I read it. How could I have missed those obviously glaring issues? Because they were my glaring issues, obviously.

Oh, I relish the thought of mingling with other fantasy authors, even if it is virtually.

I suspect I know who the author of Dying For Dragons is, but I'm very bad with logic problems, so I could be wrong. We'll see.

The main critique for my synopsis, and every synopsis that has posted thus far, seems to be "too busy." While that may be true, it does beg the question of exactly how to distill a 166,000 word book into, let's say, 500 words. That's about one page single-spaced.

I just did a quick count (very quick) but I have, at least, seven different storylines/ mysteries/ plot complications in Star of Justice. (to paraphrase Quillek to Dr. Lazarus in the deleted scene from Galaxy Quest: "it's very complicated.") I mentioned the five main characters in the synopsis because they each play a part in what is most likely the main story of the book: Caissa's quest to verify the truth of the so-called prophecy. That's not the only thing happening in the book. For 166.000 words, I would hope not.

Plus, a synopsis, according to Jeff the Publisher, is supposed to lay out the meat of the story in three acts. At Jeff's request, the synopsis I submitted for the contest covers acts 1 and 2. I appreciate this deviation. It allowed me to leave out some major zingers that would have ruined the book if they were told in synopsis form. Since I hope one day some of these people will be readers, I would have hated that. For a regular synopsis reviewed only by an editor, I would include those because they show I have tricks up my sleeve, new twists on an old story, as it were.

Some of the synopses in the main contest were written the proper way, and the irony is people complained about giving the whole plot! Chuckle. This highlights the difference between editors and readers. Are editors visionaries? They read the little blurbs and see what could be instead of what is? If that is true, I am not editor material.

Now, this is not sour grapes. This is real puzzlement. If a synopsis is supposed to summarize the story and give a flavor of the writing style, it's no wonder so many people aren't doing it well. I've actually relaxed my normally uber-legalistic rule-following because I see how much trouble we newbies are having with this.

If premises and blurbs and synopses are what get a writer's foot in the door, it is to my advantage to learn to write them well. This contest is the first step.

For Me, the Contest Is Over

I noticed that yesterday was my 100th post. In TV, that would mean I could now be in syndication.

Star of Justice did not advance. I am not crying. I am not shaking. I feel, for the most part, completely normal.

My dear readers should know by now I handle failure better than success. Success frightens me.

The irony is Dying for Dragons, the only other premise I started a thread for, did advance! Chuckle. God has a sense of humor.

Congratulations to the author of Winter (wink). I told you it would move forward.

My intention is to revisit the remaining 10 and try to look at them with new eyes. Most of them haven't interested me genre-wise since the beginning, but we'll see if 500 words makes the difference.

In the main contest, I was more surprised to find neither Sword of the Patron nor Vinnie's Diner advanced. I'm starting to think a vote from me is the kiss of death. Except The Last Apostle moved forward, and I voted for it, too.

I will post a feedback thread for Star of Justice. I'm waiting for someone else to do one first so I know where to put it. I've been trying to compose an appropriately humble yet cheeky intro for the thread. Something like "With straightened shoulders and one raised eyebrow, I step forward to claim Star of Justice as my own. I welcome anyone so inclined to offer whatever they feel is appropriate."

Although, wow, that sounds stiff yet geeky. So maybe not that. I'll think about it.

My thanks to everyone who took part in the contest on my behalf. Please don't stop just because I'm out of it.

Last Day to Vote in Phase 3

I want to believe tomorrow is not bothering me. Last night's restless sleep (for once, not attributable to cats - yea!) tells me differently. I had the feeling I was missing the deadline. Odd, since I voted several days ago. It was a little bit high school nightmarish. You know, you forgot your homework, but you're really 38 and high school has been over for a while? That kind of thing. I had a nightmare three years after I graduated that I had to take my master's degree oral exam the next day. Woke up in a cold sweat.

I don't want to spend tomorrow with a post-weeping headache. Those are rarely good days.

I finally compared the voting totals for the various phases. I'm no statistician (despite that last boring college class), but I was curious.

Seems aside from the first slam of 779 voters in phase one of the main contest, voters are, for the most part, holding steady around the 500 mark. I'm not even going to try to interpret the number of votes cast. That way lies madness for the math-challenged turtle.

Phase 2 saw a drop in participation in the main contest and an increase in the premise contest. That makes sense. Several people on the boards who were in the main contest and didn't advance have admitted to turning their attention to the premise contest now that every waking minute isn't spent thinking about whether they'll win the prize. That was a long sentence.

With one day left, all the procrastinators may show up in droves and add another couple hundred to the tallies. Polls close at 11 PM Central time today.

It has occurred to me that with the race so close, and only 10 spots available, we're playing a game of musical chairs. With only one vote separating 20 and 21 last phase, this could be interesting. I wonder if Jeff the Publisher has a contingency plan for multiple-ties.

I'm so glad I'm not running this contest. I would have eaten my own hair by now.

The Flip Side of Pride

Only the proud probably know this, but the flip side of pride is doubt. Self-doubt, to be specific.

This is important to know. Not so you can go around wigging out proud people. That would be fun, but hardly Christ-like.

No, it's important because everyone is plagued by self-doubt. Everyone.

Every time I hand my manuscript over to someone new, every time I post a comment on a message board, every time I write a post in this, my own blog, I struggle with how it will be perceived. When I reply to an email, I worry I'll be misunderstood.

Why? Because pride and doubt are the same thing: an intense focus on self.

Let this be a ray of hope to all you insecure folks out there. You, too, can appear just as proud as I do (if you wish). Here's how.

When I was young, I was told most people have no idea what they're doing most of the time. For this reason, when you walk into a room, act like you know what you're doing, and most folks will believe you do. Why? 'Cause they don't have a clue, either.

I cannot remember who told me this. It must have been someone I trusted.

This has been my SOP in new situations for most of my life. It works. When I was young, I was bossy, arrogant and proud when I did this. As I've matured and learned to inject a good dose of self-directed humor into situations, I am often perceived as confident and self-assured. This could not be further from the truth.

So, that's the secret. When you encounter the proud, bossy, arrogant person (or the calm, self-assured, in control person), realize - she's just as terrified as you are. She just hides it better.

I've focused a lot on pride this week. I wonder what God's trying to tell me.

Word Count

I can't remember if I've thought about this, talked about it or written about it. If I can't remember, I seriously doubt you can.

The subject of word count has come up several times during the contest. Star of Justice is one of the higher word count submissions. Naturally, I am quite interested in these discussions.

In single space/12 font, Star of Justice is 314 pages long. I always assumed that would be close to the final, published page count of the book. Books are smaller, but so is the font. I don't believe I've ever learned a conversion guide for computer type to printed type.

According to an MLS poster (and I have no reason to doubt him), it's actually closer to 500 pages. That's a lot of pages, even to me. No wonder people are hesitating.

I didn't have a page count in mind when I wrote. I just wrote until the story was finished. I covered all the bases, answered all the questions I meant to answer in this book, and called it done. It happened to be done at 166,000 words.

My writing process is to start with a quick sketch of the scene using emotional dialogue or action. My second sweep adds specific actions for each character that move the scene forward. Finally, I add sensory details to bring the action to sometimes delicious, occasionally disgusting life. I gained weight writing this book because many scenes revolve around eating, and I didn't want to be the only one left out.

Early on in the contest, a writer admitted his book was 150,000 words and Jeff the Publisher wanted him to cut it down to 120,000. That's 30,000 words. By my (albeit shaky) math and tiny solar calculator, that's over 100 pages.

Now, maybe that author's book can benefit from the cutting. He seemed at peace with the decision. Maybe that peace had to come after some wailing and gnashing of teeth.

I can't imagine cutting 100 pages from my book.

I have always expected to do some rewriting. I've done my best to prepare it for publication as is, but I learned yesterday, having one other writer look at something can be invaluable for spotting wasted words.

A few posters at MLS would tell me to suck it up and slash and burn, baby. My paraphrase. Boy howdy, though, would Star of Justice really be better without Horus and Callista, Master Thall and Tusk and Daria? Those are the people in the scenes most likely to get cut. I don't know if I like the idea of a book without them.

I don't want to borrow trouble. Maybe whatever publisher picks it up won't mind the word count. It just occurred to me I might want to prepare myself for the possibility.

I'll let you know when the wailing begins.

A Bit of A Ramble About...Pride

Pride is my top deadly sin. Gluttony and Sloth are tied for second place, but since I don't weigh 500 lbs and live unemployed in my parents' basement, I'll stick with Pride as number one.

Why pride? Allow me to quote George MacDonald from The Lost Princess:
"As she grew up, everybody about her did his best to convince her that she was Somebody; and the girl herself was so easily persuaded of it that she quite forgot that anybody had ever told her so, and took it for a fundamental, innate, primary, first-born, self-evident, necessary, and incontrovertible idea and principle that she was Somebody."

I could be either girl in that story. While I identify with Rosamund, I fear I resemble Agnes. I would hope I no longer walk her path.

Fortunately, God in His wisdom sent a thorn in my flesh in my 12th year of life. I learned there were other Somebodies in the world besides myself. I've been learning it one way or another ever since.

So, while pride is my problem, I have two advantages in my fight against it. One, I know it's my problem. Two, I don't like it.

I recently told a friend that my default state is cynical, perfectionistic, and critical to the point of cruelty. My family calls it "being honest." Normal people call it "being mean." I suspect the normals have the right of it.

Couple this default state with the Judgment aspect of my personality type according to Meiers-Briggs, and I can seem quite heartless and insufferably arrogant. I can do it without trying, actually. (Hmm. Does that sound proud?)

My point with this post is complicated. On the one hand, I want you my readers to know I struggle with this and to know that I know I struggle with this. On the other hand, I also want you to know that my prideful statements are rarely deliberate (unless they're funny. I have to go for the funny). It is a remnant of my fallen nature, something Christ will continue to draw out of me as long as I live.

My brother and I once got into an argument that went something like this:
"You are never wrong," he said.
"That's not true," I replied.
He rolled his eyes and left. It took me years to understand why. Turtle proud but not always bright.

I am not perfect. I can be mean, but I promise I don't do it on purpose anymore. My Jesus frowns on such behavior, and I try very hard to make Him proud of me.

I guess I'm saying it helps to read the turtle with a grain of salt, because I can't always tell when my words are hard to swallow.

You, my readers, have permission to call me out for bad behavior. It's one of my rules.

I Only Missed A Day

Huh. Feels like an eternity.

I was not exercising my sabbath rest. I've been ill. Not death's door, praise the Lord, but not the happiest camper, either. Fever finally broke. Today I got up, showered, and tried to stay awake.

I mostly succeeded.

I hope tomorrow will get better.

Drink your elderberry juice, children. The world is an ugly, germy place.

I Voted

It wasn't easy.

The voting part is easy. All the entries now fit into a single thread so it is by far the easiest process in the whole contest.

The not-easy part was choosing the entries I would support.

In the premise contest, some of my favorites were knocked out. Of those that remained, I found three (other than Star of Justice, of course) that held my interest and seemed to know how to put a sentence together. Jeff compared me to a copy-editor in one post. I wouldn't have the patience to be a copy-editor. Or the fan base to support me. On the other hand, I could be known as "The Dragon Lady." That sounds nice. Better than "Crazy Cat Lady."

I started a thread for Star of Justice with this reasoning: I promised I would start some in this phase, thinking I would be knocked out. If I didn't start some, people would know I was still in. This is assuming anyone is paying any sort of attention to me at all, which is beyond arrogant at this point. Rationally, if I didn't make it, I should have started a "Why Did You Hate My Book?" thread. Since I didn't, I'm either a coward or I'm still in the contest.

I didn't want to start threads on premises I didn't like, and fortunately two of my picks remained "open for discussion." So I started two threads, one for my book, one for someone else's. I haven't promoted either since starting them. My secret identity is intact. Maybe. Mwahahaha!

The nice part is hearing from a few people who liked it. One even went back and changed her votes to be sure she had voted for it. That was nice. Made me feel all warm and tingly.

In the main contest, boy howdy! The difference 30 pages makes!

I'm keeping The Last Apostle, but only because I can't find another one that I would want to read more. It was a little boring in the first 30 pages. I hope the next 30 give me a reason to go on.
Vinnie's Diner has returned to my list, much to my surprise. I don't like first person writing, but this first person is hilarious. I enjoy being in her head. She reminds me a lot of Kiven, one of my characters from Past Ties. This may end up being The One I vote for in the end.

Sword of the Patron continues to hold my interest. As a fantasy, it reminds me of Star of Justice, although the story is completely different. Caissa doesn't live in an occupied land, for one. The characters seem more fleshed out to me than some of the others, and for the most part, believable in their actions and reactions. I'm all about the characters. I also like some of the word choices. This author isn't afraid to use words out of the norm.

I did try to read through the remaining five entries when I realized I wasn't as happy with the Apostle John as I hoped. They just didn't hold my attention. Altar has potential. The emotions are there. The skill seems a little lacking yet. Maybe that could be improved with copy editing. I wouldn't know.

I almost voted for H20. I hadn't been interested in it until I got the 30 pages, but the main character is interesting. High-powered exec yet rides a motorcycle. Maybe that's true of all execs. My biggest fear? After reading the synopsis, I know she swears off water for a while, and I didn't want to read about her all grungy and gross in first person. A little too Crime and Punishment for me.

So, there are my three votes in the main and my reasons. We're only allowed to vote for three this time.

Polls close 11 PM Dec 15. Don't forget to vote!

I hope you're enjoying the contest so far. I think I am.

Winter

Winter is my least favorite season. Were I able to stay inside all snuggly warm in a hand-knitted sweater like Little Mouse on the Prairie, it wouldn't be so bad. But I have to scrape the cold off my car and brave treacherous streets and more treacherous drivers to get to work and back twice a day. I hate that.

I also miss the sun. And the warmth. And I hate it when things die, which many, many things do in winter.

My favorite part of winter is the solstice. I tried having solstice parties, but Christmas kept getting in the way. Just kidding, Jesus. Your birthday is more important.

I like the solstice because once it's over, days start getting longer. Within a few weeks, I can see the difference in the morning. Weather-wise, the worst of the cold, snow, ice, etc. is just getting started, but knowing that the earth is tilting toward spring, my favorite season, makes is bearable.

Today brought a forcible reminder that winter has arrived, even though, officially it doesn't start until the solstice. Bundle up. And leave at least two car lengths between you and the guy ahead. If it's me, I've already paid my deductible for the year.

Why I Write

All authors have a reason for writing. We have a reason because writing is hard work and why work hard with no reason? The reason usually falls somewhere in the spectrum between "I want to be richer than JK Rowling" to "God gave me this story and the world needs to read it."

I don't expect to make a lot of money. I won't be upset if that happens, but that's not my aim. I will not write simply to appeal to a mass market audience. If I was OK with that, I'd write GLT porn and make a mint.

I don't particularly feel God has called me to write. He gave me some ability in that direction. He gave me an interest in it, and has opened doors in the writing world, but I don't think my stories are "change the world" stories.

I don't write just to write. I don't have a degree in journalism because I don't want to write about things that bore me.

I don't write to challenge people's worldviews. I don't feel the need to push any envelopes or step on toes or cause great theological upheaval. One of the reasons Star of Justice isn't getting much discussion at MLS, I suspect. What is there to discuss?

So, why do I write?

I write because I'm tired of secular authors taking up all the space on the fiction shelves. My books illustrate my basic worldview: God created the universe (He created any universe I write about), He put humans in it, humans turned away from Him and He went to great lengths to redeem us. He also recorded all this in writing so we'd know it.

These ideas will present themselves in every book I write. Some of my characters will reject God. Some will have an incomplete understanding of Him (who doesn't?). Some won't have a clue He exists. Some will know Him in a real relationship.

My stories are stories about people dealing with God, specifically the God of the Bible. Other things happen in the stories. That's how life works. We don't just sit around thinking about God all day. He shows up in the things that happen to us.

I used to role play (alas, I lost my group in a divorce. Not mine). In every campaign, the characters I played believed in God. I had a friend who thought that was silly. She just played good characters. My question to her was "how can you be good without God?"

That's the question my story characters must answer. How can you be good without God?

So, no money, no calling, no drive to write. Just a basic interest in improving the general quality of fictional literature produced today.

So far, that's reason enough.

Oh, and voting opens today and runs through Dec 15. If you're looking for info about Marcher Lord Press, click on the label on the left side of the blog. You may have to click on "older posts" if you don't find what you're looking for, like how to register with MLS.

Stress Relief

Seems I'm not the only one feeling a little frustrated. Several "fights" have broken out in the premise contest threads (chuckle). I wondered early on how long it would take for things to get ugly. To paraphrase the little cartoons seeking answers about a Tootsie pop:
"How many rounds does it take to get to the nasty in a writing contest?"
"Let's see. One. To-who. Crunch! Two."

Poor Jeff the Publisher. He called for a group hug. Hopefully, it will be enough to remind us all to behave ourselves. I'm feeling a little more magnanimous today. I apologize to any and all yesterday's rant may have offended. I'm not sorry for the rant. I'm sorry for the offense.

In the spirit of stress relief, I recommend everyone take two hours off and watch a Christmas movie instead of fret over the contest. Here are some of my favorites.

Galaxy Quest: Not technically a Christmas movie, but I once watched it every single day in a December (that's 31 days for those of you who like math). It is, quite possibly, my favorite movie ever. It exalts teamwork, loyalty, self-reliance and helping innocent aliens whenever possible. It also has some of the funniest one-liners ever uttered by Tony Shaloub: "The floors are so clean," "Didn't you see that thing, with the eyeball, like this?" and "Seems okay." This may be my most quoted movie, too.

Scrooged: This is my favorite incarnation of A Christmas Carol. Bill Murray is Frank Cross, a TV executive who hates Christmas and is planning the largest live Christmas show ever on Christmas Eve. It has the Solid Gold Dancers in it! By the time Frank comes around to the meaning of Christmas, I'm balling like a baby. Every time. Great show. Susie, you'll need the TNT version.

The Addams Family: Opened during the Christmas season and spawned a not-too-bad-all-things-considered sequel. This show proves that good triumphs over evil, because in trying to show how evil this family is, the writers only showed how powerful love it. This is a multi-generational family living together, involved in their children's lives and rearing them according to family tradition, with parents completely devoted to one another and supportive of each other's quirks. That's how I see it, anyway. Some of us could learn a few things, eh?

The Fellowship of the Ring: Also opened during the Christmas season. The best of the three in my opinion, and closest to the book in execution, this movie has it all: friendship, devotion, romance, endurance under persecution, and a great soundtrack. I recommend the extended version. If you have the time, go ahead and watch the other two movies. If we get that blizzard on Tuesday, you might need a way to pass 12 hours.

Die Hard: Did you really think I could list Christmas movies and not include the most iconic Christmas movie of all time? This blockbuster took America by storm, spawned three sequels and put Twinkies back on the food pyramid. Susie, you'll definitely need the TNT version of this one. But if shoot 'em up, never-say-die American spirit personified by a bloody, battered Bruce Willis is your cup of joe, by all means, sit back and enjoy the ride. It might also help get some of the fight out before you hit the forum boards again.

Happy watching, people.

Premise Contest Phase 3

That's what you're looking for this time around. Minimum vote remains 3, maximum vote is now 8.
I have chosen four, and I'm being nice about one of them. I won't say which one.

I'm a little snarky today. Not the best thing considering I posted a comment on the forum that may attract some return snark. It went a little bit like this: I'm disappointed in the synopses.

Here's the exposition I left off the forum. Anyone truly annoyed by my comment there may come here and read how I really feel.

Hi!

Silly, I suppose, but I figured everyone who applied to a publishing house would actually know how to write well. Perhaps naive is a better adjective.

By no means do I consider myself a master's level writer, but I do have an English Composition and Grammar course book sitting next to me at the computer, and when I have a question, I look it up.

I love the English language. Like Henry Higgins, it pains me when people misuse it. "Less" instead of "fewer." "Raised" instead of "reared." "Busted" instead of "burst." Modifiers dangling without hope of finding an object. I forgive most people because they don't know better.

Writers should know better. I can appreciate breaking rules for drama or tone, but show me you know the rules before you break them.

Last night was the first time (I'm having a lot of firsts with this contest) I considered that the premise contest is an actual slice of the kind of submissions Jeff the Publisher gets on a regular basis. Great ideas in less than perfect form. Grrr!

For him, the question is probably "Can I work with this writer?"

For me, the question is "Are you kidding?" OK, that's a little exaggerated. My emotions are getting the better of me. Engage Vulcan calm.

It's a good thing Jeff is laizzez faire (I have no idea how to spell that. I love English, not French). I'm uptight, anal-retentive and occasionally (occasionally? Ha!) insensitive. I'd tell everybody to go home and come back when they knew how to use commas.

Yeah, Vulcan calm not engaged yet.

I would like to say the main contest has had much better writing overall. And better discussions.

Another rant coming on...

That's another thing that helped bring on the snark. I check in to the premise sub-board after 2 days to see what's going on, and there's a thread discussing the funny permutations of mibillie2's login name.

IS THIS REALLY THE TIME FOR SUCH LEVITY?

Vulcan calm just transported up to the ship, and left Klingon rage alone on the planet. I suppose we all need to blow off some steam, and making fun of Hill-mibillie the Redneck Son is how some folks choose to do it. I will not be participating in that thread.

My viewpoint from here on out is I can't afford to engage emotionally with winning this contest. It's like owning a newt. Won't do it again. They don't live long enough to offset the week long crying jag that follows their deaths. I will not spend a week of my life sobbing into my computer at work because my entry didn't make the next cut. It's silly and undignified.

To be clear, I will still do that. I'm just aware that it's silly and undignified.

To sum up, three minimum - eight maximum, I'm freaking out again, and tomorrow will be better.

This is why you don't trust your feelings. They can make you write stuff like this.

Evaluation

It seems important to perform a monthly evaluation of this site most likely for the next year (unless the Internet gets shut down in that time, that is). Important to me, anyway. Let me know how you feel about it. It is nice to pause and look back, around and forward. Hmm. I don't think I've looked forward yet. See? That's why you evaluate.

This month I've added one official follower. Hi, Kristen! I know of a couple more who read it but don't "follow" officially. Hi to you, too!

I've increased the number of commenters to five (I think), including my mom. Way to go, mom, on figuring out how to post a comment! Mom's also learned how to navigate The Anomaly. I'm very impressed with her.

I've learned how to put a picture inside a post (see Neno Award). Thank you, Susie, for the award and the instruction. If only I took more pictures!

I've added "labels" to my posts (not all of them yet, but I'm working on it). I saw that on (correction) Kristen's site and liked it.

I've tossed out the corny poem and replaced it with a less-corny guidance verse of Scripture.

I've added my own website link to this site.

This blog (as well as my website) shows up on search engines. Irony: when I googled my name, one of the links that came up listed "Star of Justice entered in Marcher Lord Select Premise Contest" from my website. Of all the parts to list. I decided to leave it on there. How many people will be looking me up by name? A lot, I hope, but originally, Jeff the Publisher was considering posting author's names, so...shrug. Besides, I wanted the website to promote my name as an author, and I'm doing that. I will not feel guilty. That's a topic for another post.

I started this post early this morning, and almost forgot I hadn't finished it. I'll finish it now.
The last month's posts have focused mainly on the Marcher Lord Select contest. Prepare for some MLS posts for the next month. The contest will conclude New Year's Eve. I'll give more details tomorrow. I haven't looked them up yet.

I do have other things to write about, though, and I'll get back to some of those, too.

Now, I have some main contest reading to do. I'll start with my picks that made it, and work out from there. I think we're only allowed three, and I think only three of mine made it. Choices might be pretty simple here.

And a heartfelt "I'm so sorry" to Ginny Jacques. I was surprised Zinovy's Journey didn't advance. I'm more shocked by some of the ones that did. This is a weird contest.

Titles

What to write about today? I'm starting the morning with a headache, crick in my neck, and a stuffy nose that's upsetting my stomach, so I'm a little bit off. I'm thinking I need to lay off the wheat and eat nothing but greens for the next week to get back into balance.

Since I was having trouble picking a title for this post, I've decided to write about titles.

Seems titles are difficult for some authors. My ideas usually come to me in title-form. The title pops up in my brain and the story follows soon after. The only title I ever had trouble picking was Star of Justice. The book was written before I realized the title was staring me in the face.

The funny part is I didn't tie the title into the blurb or synopsis in any way whatsoever for the contest. That probably isn't good.

A star of justice is a magical tattoo of rank for the Goloran knighthood. Instead of medals, Goloran knights have a six-pointed star (basically a Star of David) on their left inner forearm that is altered each time a new rank is achieved. A seventh-ranked knight's star includes all the colors of the rainbow with gold edging. Caissa is a second-ranked knight when the story begins, so her star is purple and blue with silver edges (described in the first 500 words). A knight of Golor is known colloquially as a Star of Justice.

See? Obvious title. Can't believe it took me four months to see it.

Elementals was simple. It's a story about elemental forces of good, evil, fire, water, darkness, light, etc. Past Ties was so simple its sequels (or possibly acts) followed immediately with Present Tense, Future Perfect, and the side-squel Dangling Participles that starts the events concluded in Star of Justice.

I have a file cabinet full of titles and ideas. I've just never had the follow-through to work on them. Hopefully, that is now changing.

Unfortunately, the MLS contest has halted work on Past Ties. I have 245 pages of main contest entries to read and consider in the next week. Some people are already commenting on the boards. I have to wonder how many of the posters in the contest have other jobs. Or lives :)

I have both, and I should be getting back to them.

See you on The Anomaly.

What I Meant to Write Yesterday

I wrote my concession speech the day before. I was prepared to be all thoughtful and magnanimous.

Then I made the cut, and pretty much went out of my mind for the day. I expect to be finding mistakes I made at work while thinking about the contest for the rest of the month. God-willing, they'll be small.

I have told you before I do not make snap judgments. That is sort of correct. I do have a default setting, if you will. When confronted with a completely new situation, something I've never encountered before (or don't recognize as something I've encountered before), I freeze. Caissa from Star of Justice shares this quality with me, poor girl. It's not a good reaction to have when dragons want to kill you.

I do absolutely nothing until I can figure out what to do. This is not a right or wrong response. It is just my response.

When I believed I would be eliminated, my first response was to do nothing. Yes, I've lost things before, but not quite this type of thing. I would wash Star of Justice's hands of MLS and move it on to other pastures as is, and write another book for MLS (still a good plan).

Then my brain started working. I realized I was missing an opportunity to really look at the writing I submitted and consider how it could have been different. I've said before I was aiming for accuracy, but it's a big book. It could be accurate in a lot of ways.

Marketing is about knowing the audience. What kind of blurb would catch the attention of this audience? What parts of my book would appeal to them?

I believe truth is absolute. Truths are true all the time, for everyone, without exception. This belief about truth can cloud my thinking sometimes. Just because absolute truth exists doesn't mean my back-cover blurb must capture it.

I'm not saying I should lie about what's in the book. I'm not saying I should rewrite the book to please this audience. I am saying if I'm serious about being a published author, I should try to think of explaining my book in different ways for different audiences. Yes, this is a new thought for me. No instincts, remember, and very little real life experience.

The truth is Star of Justice won't appeal to everyone. I don't expect it to. It's not the Bible. But it does appeal to a wide audience.

I just need to figure out how to communicate that.

So that's what I was going to write yesterday, and it's still true today. I'm going to fiddle a bit more with premises and cover blurbs, and even the synopsis, keeping in mind that truth, in this instance, can be reflective instead of absolute.

And if Star of Justice doesn't make the next cut, I will post a thread and ask for advice and take it like a real woman. While crying into my java chiller.

Oh, and I've added my website link to this blog. It's a little rough, but feel free to hop over there, check it out, and sign my guestbook! You can also email me from that site, if you wish.

I Love Everybody!

When I checked the MLS forum this morning, it was merely to complete the formality of not seeing Star of Justice on the list.

It's there.

The phrase I uttered cannot be written here, for decency purposes and because I know of at least two people who would be offended. Think Frank Barone and take it up one notch.

Not the best way to give thanks to God, but I was startled.

Startled? Floored. Dumb-founded. Shocked. I kept checking to make sure I really was looking at the right list.

Tears started immediately. I'm crying now, so I'm having trouble seeing the keyboard. Sorry if I miss a typo.

This was entirely you people. According to the boards, people at MLS are generally not interested in my type of fantasy. The three other fantasies like mine did not make it (the other ones I voted for).

That tells me it was entirely people who actually know me, whether they've read my book or not, who voted for me. That's you guys.

I'm crying again. I know I love myself. I never realized other people might love me, too. Except you, mom, you're a given.

Anyway, thank you, everybody. I don't know how I'm going to make it through work. I can't stop crying and now my head hurts.

See? This is what happens when I win something.

And a special thank you to my Lord and Savior. You've been with me through all of this, the writing, the submitting, the waiting, and the resignation. Thank You, Jesus, for my life and my friends. May You bless each of them as much as You've blessed me.